Source: https://www.nny360.com/, September 2, 2020 By: Ellis Giacomelli The state Department of Environmental Conservation continues to monitor a chemical gas leak from a stationary rail car at the SABIC Innovative Chemicals facility in Albany County. First reported early Tuesday morning, the leak led to the evacuation of non-essential businesses within a half-mile of the facility, […]

Source: https://kjzz.org/, September 1, 2020 By: Nicholas Gerbis The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered many buildings. As prospects for reopening rise, so too does the need to contend with water systems potentially contaminated during the shutdown. Stagnant water in pipes or tanks can breed microorganisms like Legionella pneumophila, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. Read more.

Source: https://www.msn.com/, September 1, 2020 By: Elizabeth Elkind Health officials are warning parents and students returning to in-person instruction that COVID-19 might not be the only health risk they should be concerned about. Traces of Legionella — Legionnaires disease — have been found at multiple schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania after months of sitting empty during the pandemic-related lockdowns.  […]

Source: https://www.mlive.com/, September 2, 2020 By: Garret Ellison A major national packaging company is accused of failing to control noxious odors and dust around one of its Michigan paper mills in a new class action lawsuit. Graphic Packaging International is named as a defendant in a complaint filed Tuesday, Sept. 1 in U.S. District Court […]

Source: MassLive.com, September 1, 2020 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com/ Two companies in Massachusetts have reached a settlement with the office of Attorney General Maura Healey, agreeing to pay a total of $185,000 over allegations that the companies illegally discharged polluted industrial stormwater into local rivers. UAVE LLC in Norwood and Cargill, Inc. and Salt City, Inc. […]

Source: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/, August 31, 2020 By: Edvard Pettersson Seattle scoffed at the $650 million Bayer AG agreed to pay to settle class-action claims by about 2,500 cities, counties and ports over pollution from polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB, saying it plans to opt out of the deal. According to a filing by Seattle last week in […]

Source: The Independent (UK), August 24, 2020 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com/ Virgin Atlantic is offering Covid-19 insurance cover, free of charge, to all passengers. The airline has launched what it claims is “the most comprehensive Covid-19 cover provided by any major airline” for all new and existing bookings up until 31 March 2021. Read more.

Source: Chicago Tribune, August 21, 2020 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com/ Hundreds of new lawsuits have been filed against Sterigenics alleging that health problems including cancer and miscarriages were caused by ethylene oxide emissions from the Willowbrook facility, bringing the total number of cases filed in Cook County against the sterilization company to more than 700. This […]

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/, May 7, 2020 The temporary shutdown or reduced operation of a building and reductions in normal water use can create hazards for returning occupants. Two potential microbial hazards that should be considered prior to reopening after a period of building inactivity are mold and Legionella (the cause of Legionnaires’ disease). For mold, a “prolonged period” may be days, weeks, […]

Source: https://www.mycentraljersey.com/, August 22, 2020 By: Nick Muscavage Voorhees High School will be starting the school year with remote learning, but not because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, Principal Ron Peterson posted  that the school is closed and all students will attend classes through virtual instruction after mold was found in the school’s cafeteria. […]

Source: https://legalnewsline.com/, August 25, 2020 By: Daniel Fisher A Michigan judge has cleared the way for his state’s lawsuit to proceed against numerous manufacturers of PFAS, a family of chemicals that leach into groundwater and persist in the environment for years or decades. The ruling by Kent County Circuit Court Judge Jay Quist eliminated the […]

Source: https://www.woodtv.com/, August 27, 2020 By: Kyle Mitchell People living near a cardboard packaging plant are voicing concerns about an odor they say has been a health concern for many years. Brandi Crawford-Johnson has lived near the Graphic Packaging International Kalamazoo site for a decade and is concerned emissions from the plant are having an […]